Waiting for Welford Ward
by FallenStar22
Summary: When the Doctor, Amy and Rory try to go home for Christmas dinner, what calls them to the gloomy Welford Ward, and why won't anyone answer the door?
1. Chapter 1

**AN: Something like this actually happened to me which is why I thought it would be appropriate to write it up! **

**Disclaimer: I do not own any rights to Dr Who nor am I the next writer of the series :(**

Waiting for Welford Ward

Chapter 1

"Well this is interesting!" exclaimed the Doctor jovially, stepping out of his blue box.

"Doctor," warned Amy knowing him well enough by now to know that interesting did not always mean good.  
>"What is it?" she asked, following him out of the Tardis. "Oh." Amy looked surprised as she appeared on a large, gloomy looking campus. "Why are we at a hospital? I thought we were going home for Christmas." She looked to Rory to see if he understood more than she did.<p>

"Maybe someone was in need of some help and who better to call than us! The Doctor, the nurse and," he faltered for a second, "The nurse's wife." He cast an uneasy glance back at Amy to check if she approved and then continued, "Anyway, let's not waste time, got to get going!" He bounded up to the entrance and waited expectantly for the automatic doors to open. When they didn't, he frowned and muttered angrily, "Why call them automatic doors if they don't open automatically, actually why call them doors if they don't open at all, they should just be called automatics because they are automatically annoying!" He continued ranting, trying to fix the beeping sensor above his head with his sonic screwdriver, when Amy's tapping foot interrupted him.

"Doctor." She pointed to the sign taped to the glass door. _Please press the intercom for access to Welford Ward. _

"Ah," he said, pulling his hand down ashamedly. "Well I guess that sorts that problem out, press the button then."

Amy obliged and waited patiently as the intercom rang and rang. She tried the second button and waited again; still no answer. Half way through waiting for the third one, her patience deserted her and she screamed pressing all of the buttons multiple times until a high-pitched squeaking noise was emitted instead. Amy kicked the wall in frustration while Rory soothingly placed his hand on her shoulder and rubbed her back in an attempt to calm her down.

"You said we were called here to help," she said accusingly to the Doctor, "If we are here to help then why isn't there anybody here to answer the door?" Her voice had risen considerably by this point until she was shouting at the Doctor.

Shaking her head she retreated, "Sorry, don't know what came over me there." Her face was furrowed, staring at the ground, trying to make sense of this uncharacteristic behaviour.

It had seemed that Amy's shouts had awakened someone from inside, and a friendly looking Indian lady could be seen through the glass doors walking towards them.

"Can I help you?" she asked once she had passed through the impenetrable doors.

All three looked at each other unsure of what to say.

"Yes," claimed the Doctor, stepping forward and displaying his psychic paper. "I am the Doctor, he is a nurse, and she is- the nurse's wife," he cast Amy another doubtful look as he had done earlier and continued, "and we are here to inspect Welford Ward." He finished with an awkward smile, trying to pretend that he did really want to see Welford Ward, despite just plucking the name from one of the signs on that blasted door.

"It's just there on the left," the lady pointed to a corridor vaguely to her right and swiftly disappeared down another corridor.

"Well she was helpful," said the Doctor, turning round to smile at Rory and Amy. "Shall we continue?" Walking in the direction the lady pointed, the Doctor noticed that the whole building was deathly silent

He held up a finger and indicated for them to both be quiet. "Rory?" the Doctor questioned, "Are hospitals supposed to be this silent?"

"Well sometimes on the night shift they can be, but at," He turned his head to look for a clock. Spotting one above the closed reception, he finished replying uneasily, "But not a six o'clock in the evening, no, this place should be busy, they should just be finishing tea."

He looked round at the empty waiting chairs, the dirty paint, and the uninviting, unlit corridor they were instructed to go down. Work was never this quiet in the hospitals he'd been in.

Amy pushed past both of them and ordered, "Right boys, let's go, if we're doing this whole helping out thing then we might as well get on with it. I actually want to get home and find that the turkey is _not _burnt." As she stormed down the corridor the lights flickered on in welcome, but their harsh glare offered little in terms atmosphere.

"Gloomy place this," called the Doctor, "Who would like to work here?" His cheerful tone only caused Amy to stalk further away and for Rory to roll his eyes.

"Why do people always say that?" Huffed Rory, "The walls are the highlights of the day, the patients are so dreary." The unusual words slipped out of Rory's mouth before he could stop them and everyone froze to stare at him.

"What did you just say?" Demanded Amy, coming over to him and shaking his shoulders. "You love your job Rory, you've told me that what you do is special, and I love you for that."

He frowned in confusion and shook his head, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean that. What did I say?"

"That the walls were the highlights of your day." Amy repeated slowly.

"Right," replied Rory absentmindedly. "They'd be slightly more interesting if they had doors on them at least." He continued down the corridor ignoring the effect his words had on the other two.

"He's right," stated Amy. "There are no doors, the walls have no doors. Doctor, is that normal?" She asked her source of knowledge.

"I don't know!" He exclaimed, "Rory, you're our hospital expert, why do the walls have no doors?" He looked at Rory expectantly, hoping that there would be a simple explanation to this seemingly weird fact.

"I don't know, maybe the doors are on the other side, maybe there is only one set of rooms on the other side of this wall and they don't want patients leaving from the other side or something. It's not unusual really." His reply was casual; to him, there was nothing at all unusual about it besides the lack of people.

"Ah, seems we over reacted then, let's move on." The Doctor looked sheepish as he admitted his mistake.

Rory simply rolled his eyes and commented, "Just because you're a Timelord doesn't mean that people automatically call you. Maybe they called because they wanted an actual doctor who knew how to deliver a baby or something. We're short staffed around Christmas." Rory walked off to find Amy leaving the Doctor surprised at his latest outburst.

"Doctor!" called Amy from around the corner, standing in front of the only door in that corridor. "This door is locked, can you open it with your sonic screwdriver- Oh Rory, it's you. Where's the Doctor?"

Rory's face twisted in anger as he started shouting as his wife, "It's always him you ask for isn't it? Never me, never Rory, your husband. It's always him. Tell me Amy, where do your loyalties really lie?"

"Rory?" Shock and confusion passed over Amy's face, "What's wrong with you, of course I love you. I just needed the sonic screwdriver that's all." She looked at him concerned, before taking the Doctor's outstretched screwdriver. After trying it on the door, it was clear that whatever the little entrance boxes on the walls were, they wouldn't let them in.

"Listen, why don't we try the door down there, it had Welford Ward written next to it, it might be more useful," suggested the Doctor. He glanced warily at Rory and over Amy to check she was okay.

When they reached the second door, the situation was the same as it was at the front of the hospital. Amy soon got bored of receiving no response from the intercom and went in search for that lady who had helped them before.

"Hello?" she asked, speaking into the small holes in the wall.

"Hi, can I help you?" The crackly intercom replied.

After a brief exchange, a short man appeared from within and followed Amy back to the door in question. He simply repeated the lengthy process that Amy had previous done (and Rory while she wasn't there) before concluding that no one was answering. With the hope of trying to reach the people inside the ward a different way, he left them to phone the other ward.

While pacing around the area, bored of having to wait for something they knew nothing about, Amy noticed a plaque on the wall that surprised her. "Rory, Doctor, come here. Look at that." She pointed to the date inscribed on the plaque. "This ward was built on the 6th of December 2011. What does that make today?" All three of them stared at the plaque, hoping it was somehow wrong.

"So this ward was opened nineteen days ago, is that correct?" confirmed Rory, noting the peeling paint on the skirting.

"Exactly three weeks ago today," came the voice of the man from behind them. "It's been renovated." He stated the last fact proudly.

"Three weeks," murmured Rory, "Today's the twenty-seventh? It's not Christmas Day today?"

The man stared at Rory, slightly confused by his strange outburst. "Why of course it isn't. Christmas Day was two days ago! And they weren't picking up in the other ward." He banged loudly on the entrance door but there was no chance of anyone hearing him past the extra door inside. "Excuse me again, I'll go and phone them again." He hobbled off round the corner and Amy wondered if it would take him just as long to come back.

"We haven't just been pulled in space, we've also been pulled in time. Why would that happen?" The Doctor muttered to himself as he paced the corridor. "The twenty-seventh, what's so special about that date? Nothing, it's the day after two very important days in the calendar, so why not bring us here then, why now-"

"Doctor." The Doctor looked up to see what had caused Amy to distract him. She indicated her head towards the man coming towards them that could be seen through the glass panel in the door. "I think we're about to find out."


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: Now this is where I start to improvise!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any rights to Doctor Who nor am I the next writer of the series :(**

Waiting for Welford Ward

Chapter 2

The tall, greying man in his late fifties was the third person they had seen in this otherwise deserted building. He seemed more intent on leaving the ward than aware of the three visitors waiting outside the door. Once the barrier between them was removed, he finally saw them, startled at the unfamiliar faces.

After another, "Can I help you?" the three were led into the ward and directed into a small room with packets of opened party food on the table. The man seemed very courteous as he held open the door, but after forty-five minutes of waiting, Amy was reluctant to let him vanish into the cavernous ward as the previous people had done.

"Excuse me," her tone was sharp and commanding. "How do we know you're going to come back? we're here to find out what's going on and it doesn't help if you keep disappearing like that, what if there was an emergency and someone needed to get in. What would you do then?" Her face was stern and set; it reminded Rory of how she looked when lost in the Red Waterfall. It was the hardened look of someone who had spent too much time alone.

The man looked very taken aback by the brusqueness of her question, and stuttered that he was only in charge of the meals and that he'd find someone who knew what was going on.

"Doctor," whispered Rory, "Doesn't Amy seem a bit-"

"Doesn't Amy seem what?" cut off the subject herself. If she seemed angry before, then she was livid now. "Do you two think it's okay to just talk about me like I'm not here? I know you've spent all that time together while I just waited, and waited for you!" As suddenly as she grew angry, Amy's rage dissipated and her lowered face showed signs of tears. "Let's just finish up and go, I want to get out of here," she said bitterly. Amy stormed out of the waiting room and into the next door along, leaving the boys wondering, again, what had happened to their beloved companion.

Rory followed her, tentatively asking, "Amy, is everything-" Amy slammed the cupboard door shut and glared at Rory before moving to open the next one. Giving the Doctor the same treatment when he approached her, she continued her methodical checking. She wasn't checking for anything in particular, but the distraction from thinking was useful.

The Doctor was on the other side of the room, investigating something that he thought was much more interesting: presents. "I wonder why someone hasn't opened these yet; it's past Christmas," he muttered to himself.

He scanned the presents over with his screwdriver and frowned as the confirmation light gave out. He moved it over some of the biscuits and the light came back. Frowning, the Doctor ripped away the gold packaging to find a matt black box. It was oddly cool to the touch and his fingers blurred through the edges.

"Doctor?" Amy asked. "We heard-"

"Not now Amy," snapped the Doctor. "Why do you always interrupt when I'm trying to figure something out."

Amy recoiled from the harshness of his words and looked at Rory with a shocked face.

The Doctor's unusual behaviour was the last piece Rory needed to figure out what was going on. He needed to get him away from that box.

He started to improvise: "Doctor, there are patients outside." Rory kept a straight face, trying to will the Doctor into believing him and into letting go of the box. "As in actual people who we can talk to."

"Alright then, off you go." The Doctor dismissed him with a wave of a hand, not even bothering to look at Rory.

Rory attempted again: "Doctor I think you should talk to them."

The Doctor finally turned and gave Rory a pointed stare before turning back to the box.

"I know you're lying to me Rory, you can't outsmart me." The Doctor continued ignoring him, now stroking the box languidly. "You forget who I am, I am the Doctor, last remaining Timelord. I am the best of all Timelords, to have outlived them all. I have seen more than you puny humans will ever see. My head is worth thousands of units of currency on almost every planet I have visited- what can you say about your lives? I have saved countless of your insignificant lives and I barely get a thank you in return. Why should I care for you anymore, tell me, why?"

A dark menacing tone matched the timbre of his words. His fist was shaking and a threatening scowl marred his face. This was not the Doctor they knew; this was not the Doctor anyone had ever seen, for this was not the Doctor.

Slap. Amy grabbed the box from the Doctor's hand while Rory administered a good old-fashioned shock relieving treatment. The Doctor wheeled back from the force of Rory's hit and brought his hand up to his injured face, touching it delicately, still in a state of distress.

He looked up at Rory with surprised eyes, gently beginning to dab his jaw. "Ow!" He cried, "What did you do that for?" He stared at Rory in admonishment while rubbing his face. "That's going to bruise, you're supposed to care for people, you're a nurse!"

Rory was slightly taken aback by the swift change in character, it was almost as if the other Doctor was a phantom.

Meanwhile, Amy scoured the edges of the box for a ridge or opening, but to no avail. Her next attempt of whacking the box on a nearby table was much more effective, but unfortunately, it alerted the Doctor to her actions, and once again, to the box.

"That box! What are you doing?"

"Breaking the damn thing," replied Amy, clenching her teeth before she bashed it again. The wiring had become loose and started hanging loose of the box, the effect now nullified by the incomplete circuit.

Sensing the Doctor had recovered sufficiently from his weird behaviour and that the box couldn't do anymore harm in the state it was in, Rory took the box from Amy before she could do anymore damage and handed it to the Doctor.

He peered into it, only to see darkness. The sonic screwdriver only produced a negative result when used to scan the inside, and the after declaring it useless, he used it as a stick to prod into the box. An acid yellow liquid appeared on the tip, seeming sludgy at first, but then evaporating, almost instantly.

"I presume it's a conductor of some sort, perhaps not of something we have on Earth yet. These wires don't seem to work anyway," he muttered through his examination. "Either way, it's dead now, can't harm us."

He looked up at Rory and Amy, cheerful and ready to go. When they didn't return his disposition, he enquired with a raised eyebrow.

"That's it?" Asked Rory bluntly, "You're just going to act like nothing happened and you didn't say anything?"

The Doctor looked between the Ponds expectantly. "What did I say?" He asked, raising his arms in question.

The couple looked at each other, debating whether to delve into the previous conversation.

"You weren't yourself," began Amy, "You acted like you hated everyone, like you hated us." She looked down at her shoes, her hair swinging forward to cover the hurt on her face.

A panic-stricken look flitted across the Doctor's face, "That wasn't me, that's not me." He started pacing the room. "I could never hate you. You are my Amelia Pond, the girl who waited for me." He took her face in his hands. "And never forget that."


End file.
